Natural Beekeeping

Top Bar ApiRevolution has begun! Lets make some inexpensive Top Bar Hives and let them be pesticide free on their own natural comb! Che Guebee is a rebel bee fighting for the survival of the Biodiversity we all depend on and which is seriously endangered by deforestation and mono-crop agriculture! What kind of teaching have you got if you exclude nature?

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Small Hive Beetle has arrived in Italy thanks to the Import of fruits from other continets

Small Hive Beetles

I have read about the bee pest called Small Hive Beetle (SHB) on US forums and it seems this pest can heavily damage a bee colony.
From Wikipedia;
"The small hive beetle can be a destructive pest of honey bee colonies, causing damage to comb, stored honey and pollen. If a beetle infestation is sufficiently heavy, they may cause bees to abandon their hive."
Small Hive Beetle larvae

Here is a video from Italy showing SHB in inspected hives;



All Italian hives with SHB in are burned on sight. The officials are trying to stop its spread.
There are 20.000 German hives wintering in Italy for the pollination services and these might well spread it fast around Europe. I am so much against migratory beekeeping which is spreading fast pests and diseases!

I asked treatment-free beekeepers from US what they do about SHB and this is the answer I've got:
"Keep a strong hive, and make sure you have enough bees to cover ALL your protein sources. And remember, your protein sources include pollen, pollen patties, brood, larval cocoons, even dead bees. If you don't have enough bees to cover all these, you need to remove some protein."

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